Plant group identification

ABSTRACT

A farming machine moves through a field and includes an image sensor that captures an image of a plant in the field. A control system accesses the captured image and applies the image to a machine learned plant identification model. The plant identification model identifies pixels representing the plant and categorizes the plant into a plant group (e.g., plant species). The identified pixels are labeled as the plant group and a location of the pixels is determined. The control system actuates a treatment mechanism based on the identified plant group and location. Additionally, the images from the image sensor and the plant identification model may be used to generate a plant identification map. The plant identification map is a map of the field that indicates the locations of the plant groups identified by the plant identification model.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/888,948, “Weed SpeciesIdentification,” filed on Aug. 19, 2019 which is incorporated byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND Field of Disclosure

This disclosure relates to identifying and treating plants in a fieldand, more specifically, to identifying that a group of pixels in animage represent a plant in a plant group and treating the plant based onthe identified plant group.

Description of the Related Art

It is difficult to apply treatments to individual plants in a fieldrather than large areas of the field. To treat plants individuallyfarmers can, for example, manually apply treatment to plants, but thisproves labor-intensive and costly when performed at industrial scale. Insome cases, farming systems use imaging technology to identify and treatplants in a field (e.g., satellite imaging, color imaging, thermalimaging, etc.). These systems have proven less than adequate in theirability to properly identify an individual plant from a plant groupincluding several species and treat the individual plant according tothe plant group.

SUMMARY

A farming machine is configured to move through a field and selectivelytreat individual plants in the field using various treatment mechanisms.The farming machine treats individual plants by identifying the speciesof the plants in the field. To do this, the farming machine includes animage sensor that captures images of plants in the field. A controlsystem of the farming machine can execute a plant identification modelconfigured to identify pixels representing one or more species in theimages. Locations of the identified species in the images are alsodetermined. Based on the identified species and their locations withinthe images, the farming machine selectively treats the plants as itmoves through the field.

In addition to identifying plants according to their species, the plantidentification model can identify plants according to other groupings,such as plant genera, plant families, plant characteristics (e.g., leafshape, size, or color), or corresponding plant treatments to be applied.In some embodiments, these plant groupings are customizable. This allowsa user of the farming machine to form plant groupings which are tailoredto the specific plants growing in the field. For example, if the userdesires to treat pigweed, the user may instruct the plant identificationmodel to identify and categorize plants as either ‘pigweed’ or ‘notpigweed.’ In some embodiments, the plant identification model isspecifically trained to identify various types of weeds.

In some embodiments, a plant identification map of the field isgenerated using the images from the image sensor and the plantidentification model. The plant identification map is a map of the fieldthat indicates locations of the plant groups identified by the plantidentification model. The map may include additional data that providesinsights into cultivating and maintaining the field, such as total areacovered by each plant group, total area of the field, the number ofidentified plants in each plant group, and regions of the field treatedby the farming machine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A illustrates an isometric view of a farming machine, inaccordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 1B illustrates a top view of a farming machine, in accordance withthe example embodiment.

FIG. 1C illustrates an isometric view of a farming machine, inaccordance with a second example embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a farming machine includinga sensor configured to capture an image of one or more plants, inaccordance with a first example embodiment.

FIG. 3A illustrates a captured image, in accordance with an exampleembodiment.

FIG. 3B illustrates a plant group map generated based on the capturedimage, in accordance with a first example embodiment.

FIG. 3C illustrates a plant group map generated based on the capturedimage, in accordance with a second example embodiment.

FIG. 3D illustrates a plant group map generated based on the capturedimage, in accordance with a third example embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates a representation of a plant identification model, inaccordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates a table describing a set of training images, inaccordance with an example embodiment.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate performance metrics for a plantidentification model trained using the set of training images, inaccordance with an example embodiment.

FIGS. 7A-7D illustrate performance metrics of the plant identificationmodel instructed to identify different plant groups, in accordance withexample embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating a method of treating a plant using aplant identification model, in accordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating a method of training a plantidentification model, in accordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 10 illustrates a plant identification map, in accordance with anexample embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a schematic illustrating a control system, in accordance withan example embodiment.

The figures depict various embodiments for purposes of illustrationonly. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the followingdiscussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methodsillustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principlesdescribed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

I. Introduction

A farming machine includes one or more sensors capturing informationabout a plant as the farming machine moves through a field. The farmingmachine includes a control system that processes the informationobtained by the sensors to identify the plant. There are many examplesof a farming machine processing visual information obtained by an imagesensor coupled to the farming machine to identify and treat plants. Forexample, as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/126,842titled “Semantic Segmentation to Identify and Treat Plants in a Fieldand Verify the Plant Treatments,” filed on Sep. 10, 2018.

II. Plant Treatment System

A farming machine that identifies and treats plants may have a varietyof configurations, some of which are described in greater detail below.For example, FIG. 1A is an isometric view of a farming machine and FIG.1B is a top view of the farming machine of FIG. 1A. FIG. 1C is a secondembodiment of a farming machine. Other embodiments of a farming machineare also possible. The farming machine 100, illustrated in FIGS. 1A-1C,includes a detection mechanism 110, a treatment mechanism 120, and acontrol system 130. The farming machine 100 can additionally include amounting mechanism 140, a verification mechanism 150, a power source,digital memory, communication apparatus, or any other suitablecomponent. The farming machine 100 can include additional or fewercomponents than described herein. Furthermore, the components of thefarming machine 100 can have different or additional functions thandescribed below.

The farming machine 100 functions to apply a treatment to one or moreplants 102 within a geographic area 104. Often, treatments function toregulate plant growth. The treatment is directly applied to a singleplant 102 (e.g., hygroscopic material), but can alternatively bedirectly applied to multiple plants, indirectly applied to one or moreplants, applied to the environment associated with the plant (e.g.,soil, atmosphere, or other suitable portion of the plant environmentadjacent to or connected by an environmental factor, such as wind), orotherwise applied to the plants. Treatments that can be applied includenecrosing the plant, necrosing a portion of the plant (e.g., pruning),regulating plant growth, or any other suitable plant treatment.Necrosing the plant can include dislodging the plant from the supportingsubstrate 106, incinerating a portion of the plant, applying a treatmentconcentration of working fluid (e.g., fertilizer, hormone, water, etc.)to the plant, or treating the plant in any other suitable manner.Regulating plant growth can include promoting plant growth, promotinggrowth of a plant portion, hindering (e.g., retarding) plant or plantportion growth, or otherwise controlling plant growth. Examples ofregulating plant growth includes applying growth hormone to the plant,applying fertilizer to the plant or substrate, applying a diseasetreatment or insect treatment to the plant, electrically stimulating theplant, watering the plant, pruning the plant, or otherwise treating theplant. Plant growth can additionally be regulated by pruning, necrosing,or otherwise treating the plants adjacent to the plant.

The plants 102 can be crops but can alternatively be weeds or any othersuitable plant. The crop may be cotton, but can alternatively belettuce, soybeans, rice, carrots, tomatoes, corn, broccoli, cabbage,potatoes, wheat or any other suitable commercial crop. The plant fieldin which the system is used is an outdoor plant field, but canalternatively be plants within a greenhouse, a laboratory, a grow house,a set of containers, a machine, or any other suitable environment. Theplants are grown in one or more plant rows (e.g., plant beds), whereinthe plant rows are parallel, but can alternatively be grown in a set ofplant pots, wherein the plant pots can be ordered into rows or matricesor be randomly distributed, or be grown in any other suitableconfiguration. The crop rows are generally spaced between 2 inches and45 inches apart (e.g. as determined from the longitudinal row axis), butcan alternatively be spaced any suitable distance apart, or havevariable spacing between multiple rows.

The plants 102 within each plant field, plant row, or plant fieldsubdivision generally includes the same type of crop (e.g., same genus,same species, etc.), but can alternatively include multiple crops (e.g.,a first and a second crop), both of which are to be treated. Each plant102 can include a stem, arranged superior (e.g., above) the substrate106, which supports the branches, leaves, and fruits of the plant. Eachplant can additionally include a root system joined to the stem, locatedinferior to the substrate plane (e.g., below ground), that supports theplant position and absorbs nutrients and water from the substrate 106.The plant can be a vascular plant, non-vascular plant, ligneous plant,herbaceous plant, or be any suitable type of plant. The plant can have asingle stem, multiple stems, or any number of stems. The plant can havea tap root system or a fibrous root system. The substrate 106 is soilbut can alternatively be a sponge or any other suitable substrate.

The detection mechanism 110 is configured to identify a plant fortreatment. As such, the detection mechanism 110 can include one or moresensors for identifying a plant. For example, the detection mechanism110 can include a multispectral camera, a stereo camera, a CCD camera, asingle lens camera, a CMOS camera, hyperspectral imaging system, LIDARsystem (light detection and ranging system), a depth sensing system,dynamometer, IR camera, thermal camera, humidity sensor, light sensor,temperature sensor, or any other suitable sensor. In one embodiment, anddescribed in greater detail below, the detection mechanism 110 includesan array of image sensors configured to capture an image of a plant. Insome example systems, the detection mechanism 110 is mounted to themounting mechanism 140, such that the detection mechanism 110 traversesover a geographic location before the treatment mechanism 120 as thefarming machine 100 moves through the geographic location. However, insome embodiments, the detection mechanism 110 traverses over ageographic location at substantially the same time as the treatmentmechanism 120. In an embodiment of the farming machine 100, thedetection mechanism 110 is statically mounted to the mounting mechanism140 proximal the treatment mechanism 120 relative to the direction oftravel 115. In other systems, the detection mechanism 110 can beincorporated into any other component of the farming machine 100.

The treatment mechanism 120 functions to apply a treatment to anidentified plant 102. The treatment mechanism 120 applies the treatmentto the treatment area 122 as the farming machine 100 moves in adirection of travel 115. The effect of the treatment can include plantnecrosis, plant growth stimulation, plant portion necrosis or removal,plant portion growth stimulation, or any other suitable treatment effectas described above. The treatment can include plant 102 dislodgementfrom the substrate 106, severing the plant (e.g., cutting), plantincineration, electrical stimulation of the plant, fertilizer or growthhormone application to the plant, watering the plant, light or otherradiation application to the plant, injecting one or more working fluidsinto the substrate 106 adjacent the plant (e.g., within a thresholddistance from the plant), or otherwise treating the plant. In oneembodiment, the treatment mechanisms 120 are an array of spray treatmentmechanisms. The treatment mechanisms 120 may be configured to spray oneor more of: an herbicide, a fungicide, water, or a pesticide. Thetreatment mechanism 120 is operable between a standby mode, wherein thetreatment mechanism 120 does not apply a treatment, and a treatmentmode, wherein the treatment mechanism 120 is controlled by the controlsystem 130 to apply the treatment. However, the treatment mechanism 120can be operable in any other suitable number of operation modes.

The farming machine 100 may include one or more treatment mechanisms120. A treatment mechanism 120 may be fixed (e.g., statically coupled)to the mounting mechanism 140 or attached to the farming machine 100relative to the detection mechanism 110. Alternatively, the treatmentmechanism 120 can rotate or translate relative to the detectionmechanism 110 and/or mounting mechanism 140. In one variation, thefarming machine 100 includes a single treatment mechanism, wherein thetreatment mechanism 120 is actuated or the farming machine 100 moved toalign the treatment mechanism 120 active area 122 with the targetedplant 102. In a second variation, the farming machine 100 includes anassembly of treatment mechanisms, wherein a treatment mechanism 120 (orsubcomponent of the treatment mechanism 120) of the assembly is selectedto apply the treatment to the identified plant 102 or portion of a plantin response to identification of the plant and the plant positionrelative to the assembly. In a third variation, such as shown in FIGS.1A-1C, the farming machine 100 includes an array of treatment mechanisms120, wherein the treatment mechanisms 120 are actuated or the farmingmachine 100 is moved to align the treatment mechanism 120 active areas122 with the targeted plant 102 or plant segment.

The farming machine 100 includes a control system 130 for controllingoperations of system components. The control system 130 can receiveinformation from and/or provide input to the detection mechanism 110,the verification mechanism 150, and the treatment mechanism 120. Thecontrol system 130 can be automated or can be operated by a user. Insome embodiments, the control system 130 may be configured to controloperating parameters of the farming machine 100 (e.g., speed,direction). The control system 130 also controls operating parameters ofthe detection mechanism 110. Operating parameters of the detectionmechanism 110 may include processing time, location and/or angle of thedetection mechanism 110, image capture intervals, image capturesettings, etc. The control system 130 may be a computer, as described ingreater detail below in relation to FIG. 11 . The control system 130 canapply one or more models to identify one or more plants in the field.The control system 130 may be coupled to the farming machine 100 suchthat a user (e.g., a driver) can interact with the control system 130.In other embodiments, the control system 130 is physically removed fromthe farming machine 100 and communicates with system components (e.g.,detection mechanism 110, treatment mechanism 120, etc.) wirelessly. Insome embodiments, the control system 130 is an umbrella term thatincludes multiple networked systems distributed across differentlocations (e.g., a system on the farming machine 100 and a system at aremote location). In some embodiments, one or more processes areperformed by another control system. For example, the control system 130receives plant treatment instructions from another control system.

In some configurations, the farming machine 100 includes a mountingmechanism 140 that functions to provide a mounting point for the systemcomponents. In one example, the mounting mechanism 140 staticallyretains and mechanically supports the positions of the detectionmechanism 110, the treatment mechanism 120, and the verificationmechanism 150 relative to a longitudinal axis of the mounting mechanism140. The mounting mechanism 140 is a chassis or frame but canalternatively be any other suitable mounting mechanism. In theembodiment of FIGS. 1A-1C, the mounting mechanism 140 extends outwardfrom a body of the farming machine 100 in the positive and negativex-direction (in the illustrated orientation of FIGS. 1A-1C) such thatthe mounting mechanism 140 is approximately perpendicular to thedirection of travel 115. The mounting mechanism 140 in FIGS. 1A-1Cincludes an array of treatment mechanisms 120 positioned laterally alongthe mounting mechanism 140. In alternate configurations, there may be nomounting mechanism 140, the mounting mechanism 140 may be alternativelypositioned, or the mounting mechanism 140 may be incorporated into anyother component of the farming machine 100.

The farming machine 100 includes a first set of coaxial wheels and asecond set of coaxial wheels, wherein the rotational axis of the secondset of wheels is parallel with the rotational axis of the first set ofwheels. In some embodiments, each wheel in each set is arranged along anopposing side of the mounting mechanism 140 such that the rotationalaxes of the wheels are approximately perpendicular to the mountingmechanism 140. In FIGS. 1A-1C, the rotational axes of the wheels areapproximately parallel to the mounting mechanism 140. In alternativeembodiments, the system can include any suitable number of wheels in anysuitable configuration. The farming machine 100 may also include acoupling mechanism 142, such as a hitch, that functions to removably orstatically couple to a drive mechanism, such as a tractor, more to therear of the drive mechanism (such that the farming machine 100 isdragged behind the drive mechanism), but can alternatively be attachedto the front of the drive mechanism or to the side of the drivemechanism. Alternatively, the farming machine 100 can include the drivemechanism (e.g., a motor and drive train coupled to the first and/orsecond set of wheels). In other example systems, the system may have anyother means of traversing through the field.

In some configurations, the farming machine 100 additionally includes averification mechanism 150 that functions to record a measurement of theambient environment of the farming machine 100. The farming machine mayuse the measurement to verify or determine the extent of planttreatment. The verification mechanism 150 records a measurement of thegeographic area previously measured by the detection mechanism 110. Theverification mechanism 150 records a measurement of the geographicregion encompassing the plant treated by the treatment mechanism 120.The verification mechanism 150 measurement can additionally be used toempirically determine (e.g., calibrate) treatment mechanism operationparameters to obtain the desired treatment effect. The verificationmechanism 150 can be substantially similar (e.g., be the same type ofmechanism as) to the detection mechanism 110 or can be different fromthe detection mechanism 110. In some embodiments, the verificationmechanism 150 is arranged distal the detection mechanism 110 relativethe direction of travel, with the treatment mechanism 120 arranged therebetween, such that the verification mechanism 150 traverses over thegeographic location after treatment mechanism 120 traversal. However,the mounting mechanism 140 can retain the relative positions of thesystem components in any other suitable configuration. In otherconfigurations of the farming machine 100, the verification mechanism150 can be included in other components of the system.

In some configurations, the farming machine 100 may additionally includea power source, which functions to power the system components,including the detection mechanism 110, control system 130, and treatmentmechanism 120. The power source can be mounted to the mounting mechanism140, can be removably coupled to the mounting mechanism 140, or can beseparate from the system (e.g., located on the drive mechanism). Thepower source can be a rechargeable power source (e.g., a set ofrechargeable batteries), an energy harvesting power source (e.g., asolar system), a fuel consuming power source (e.g., a set of fuel cellsor an internal combustion system), or any other suitable power source.In other configurations, the power source can be incorporated into anyother component of the farming machine 100.

In some configurations, the farming machine 100 may additionally includea communication apparatus, which functions to communicate (e.g., sendand/or receive) data between the control system 130 and a set of remotedevices. The communication apparatus can be a Wi-Fi communicationsystem, a cellular communication system, a short-range communicationsystem (e.g., Bluetooth, NFC, etc.), or any other suitable communicationsystem.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a farming machine includinga sensor configured to capture an image of one or more plants, inaccordance with some example embodiments. The farming machine 200 may besimilar to any of the farming machines described in regard to FIG.1A-1C. In the embodiment of FIG. 2 , the farming machine includes asensor 210. Here, the sensor 210 is a camera (e.g., RGB camera, nearinfrared camera, ultraviolet camera, or multi-spectral camera), butcould be another type of image sensor suitable for capturing an image ofplants in a field. The farming machine 200 can include additionalsensors mounted along the mounting mechanism 140. The additional sensorsmay be the same type of sensor as sensor 210 or different types ofsensors.

In FIG. 2 , sensor 210 has a field of view 215. The field of view 215,herein, is the angular extent of an area captured by a sensor 210. Thus,the area captured by the sensor 210 (e.g., the field of view 215) may beaffected by properties (i.e., parameters) of the sensor 210. Forexample, the field of view 215 may be based on, for example, the size ofthe lens and the focal length of the lens. Additionally, the field ofview 215 may depend on an orientation of the sensor. For example, animage sensor with a tilted orientation may generate an imagerepresenting a trapezoidal area of the field, while an image sensor witha downwards orientation may generate an image representing a rectangulararea of the field. Other orientations are also possible.

In FIG. 2 , the sensor 210 is tilted. More specifically, the sensor 210is mounted to a forward region of the mounting mechanism 140, and thesensor 210 is tilted downwards towards the plants. Described herein, adownwards tilt angle is defined as an angle between the z-axis and thenegative y-axis. The field of view 215 includes plants 202 a, 202 b, 202c and weed 250. The distance between the sensor 210 and each plantvaries based on the location of the plant and the height of the plant.For example, plant 202 c is farther than plant 202 a from the sensor210. The sensor 210 can be tilted in other directions.

FIG. 2 also illustrates a treatment mechanism 120 of the farmingmachine. Here, the treatment mechanism 120 is located behind the sensor210 along the z-axis, but it could be in other locations. Whatever theorientation, the sensor 210 is positioned such that the treatmentmechanism 120 traverses over a plant after the plant passes through thefield of view 215. More specifically, as the farming machine 100 travelstowards the plant 202, the plant 202 will exit the field of view 205 atan edge 216 of the field of view nearest the treatment mechanism 120.The distance between the edge 216 and the treatment mechanism 120 is thelag distance. The lag distance allows the control system 130 to captureand process an image of a plant before the treatment mechanism 120passes over the plant. The lag distance also corresponds to a lag time.The lag time is an amount of time the farming machine has before thetreatment mechanism 120 passes over the plant 202. The lag time is anamount of time calculated from farming machine operating conditions(e.g., speed) and the lag distance.

In some configurations, the treatment mechanism 120 is locatedapproximately in line with the image sensor 210 along an axis parallelto the y-axis but may be offset from that axis. In some configurations,the treatment mechanism 120 is configured to move along the mountingmechanism 140 in order to treat an identified plant. For example, thetreatment mechanism may move up and down along a y-axis to treat aplant. Other similar examples are possible. Additionally, the treatmentmechanism 120 can be angled towards or away from the plants.

In various configurations, a sensor 210 may have any suitableorientation for capturing an image of a plant. Further, a sensor 210 maybe positioned at any suitable location along the mounting mechanism 140such that it can capture images of a plant as a farming machine travelsthrough the field.

III. Plant Group Identification

As described above, a farming machine (e.g., farming machine 200)includes a sensor (e.g., sensor 210) configured to capture an image of aportion of a field (e.g., field of view 215) as the farming machinemoves through the field. In some embodiments, the image sensor is notcoupled to the farming machine. The farming machine includes a controlsystem (e.g., control system 130) that may be configured to process theimage and apply a plant identification model to the image. The plantidentification model identifies groups of pixels of that representplants and categorizes the groups into plant groups (e.g., species). Theplant identification may additionally identify and categorize pixelsthat represent non-plant objects in the field, such as the soil, rocks,field debris, etc. The groups of pixels are labeled as the plant groupsand a location of the groups in the image are determined. The controlsystem 130 may be further configured to generate and take treatmentactions for the identified plants based on the plant groups andlocations.

A plant group includes one or more plants and describes a characteristicor title shared by the one of more plants. Thus, the plantidentification model not only identifies the presence of one or moreplants in an image, but it may also categorize each identified plantinto a plant group that describes the plant. This allows the farmingmachine to accurately perform farming actions for specific types and/orgroups of plants rather than a large array of disparate plants. Examplesof plant groups include species, genera, families, plant characteristics(e.g., leaf shape, size, color, noxious, and/or non-noxious), orcorresponding plant treatments. In some embodiments, plant groupsinclude subgroups. For example, if a plant group includes a weed group,the weed group may include weed subgroups, such as weed speciessubgroups (e.g., pigweed and lambsquarters). In another example, weedsubgroups include noxious weeds and non-noxious weeds (or less noxiousweeds). Similar examples for crop groups are also possible. In theseembodiments, the plant identification model can be instructed toclassify plants into groups (e.g., crop or weed) and/or subgroups (e.g.,pigweed, or lambsquarters).

In some embodiments, the plant identification model is used to performfarming actions at a later point in time. For example, an image sensor(e.g., not on the farming machine) captures images of portions of thefield and the plant identification model is applied to the images (e.g.,using cloud processing) to identify plant groups in the field prior tothe farming machine (e.g., machine 100) moving through the field andtreating plants in the field. When it is time to treat plants in thefield (e.g., later in the day or on another day), the plant groupsand/or instructions for treating the identified plant groups may beprovided to the farming machine. Said differently, an image sensor maycapture images of portion of the field at a first time and the farmingmachine may perform farming actions based on the images at a secondtime, where the second time can occur at any time after the first time.

FIG. 3A is an example image 300 accessed by the control system (e.g.,captured by a sensor of the farming machine). The image 300 includespixels representing a first plant 305, a second plant 310, a third plant315, and soil 320 in the field. FIG. 3B is an illustration of a plantgroup map 325A produced by applying the plant identification model tothe accessed image 300. A plant group map is an image that identifiesthe locations of one or more plant groups in an accessed image. Theplant group map 325A in FIG. 3B was generated by the plantidentification model using a bounding box method.

A bounding box method identifies groups of pixels in an accessed imagethat include a plant group (e.g., first, second, and third plant groups)and places each group of pixels within a bounding box. For example, theplant identification model identifies a group of pixels representing thefirst plant 305 and labels the group of pixels with a bounding boxcorresponding to a first plant group. Similarly, the plantidentification model encloses pixels of the second plants 310 withsecond group bounding boxes 335 and encloses pixels of the third plant315 with a third group bounding box 340. The groups associated with theboxes depend on the groups of the plant identification model. While thebounding boxes in FIG. 3B are rectangular, bounding boxes may take othersimple shapes such as triangles or circles.

Since the bounding boxes do not necessarily reflect the actual shapes ofthe plants, the bounding box method may include pixels that do notrepresent the plant (e.g., pixels that represent the soil 320, or pixelsof other plants). Since a treatment area may correspond to a boundingbox area, selected treatment mechanisms for each plant group may beapplied to unnecessary areas. For example, if a growth promoter isapplied to the first plant group box 330, one of the second plants 310may also be unintentionally treated with the growth promoter.

In other embodiments, the plant identification model performs pixelwisesemantic segmentation to identify plant groups in an image. Semanticsegmentation may be faster and more accurate than the bounding boxmethod. FIG. 3C, is an example of a plant group map 325B generated usinga semantic segmentation method to identify plant groups. The plant groupmap 325B in FIG. 3C illustrates a group of pixels 345 likely torepresent the first plant 305, groups of pixels 350 likely to representthe second plants 310, and a group of pixels 355 likely to represent thethird plant 315. Compared to the bounding box method, semanticsegmentation may be more accurate because the identified groups ofpixels can take any complex shapes and are not limited to a boundingbox.

In other embodiments, the plant identification model performs instancesegmentation to identify plant groups in an image. Instance segmentationmay be more accurate than the semantic segmentation or bounding boxmethod. For example, it may enable the use of loss functions thatimprove the detection of plants across a wide range of sizes.Additionally, it may provide data on the count of plants per unit area.FIG. 3D is an example of a plant group map 325C generated using asemantic segmentation method to identify plant groups. The plant groupmap 325C in FIG. 3D illustrates a group of pixels 360 likely torepresent the first plant 305, groups of pixels 365 and 370 likely torepresent the second plants 310, and a group of pixels 375 likely torepresent the third plant 315.

III.A Implementation of a Plant Identification Model

There are several methods to determine plant group information in acaptured image. One method of determining plant group information from acaptured image is a plant identification model that operates on a fullyconvolutional encoder-decoder network. For example, the plantidentification model can be implemented as functions in a neural networktrained to determine plant group information from visual informationencoded as pixels in an image. The plant identification model mayfunction similarly to a pixelwise semantic segmentation model where theclasses for labelling identified objects are plant groups.

Herein, the encoder-decoder network may be implemented by a controlsystem 130 as a plant identification model 405. A farming machine canexecute the plant identification model 405 to identify plant groupsassociated with pixels in an accessed image 400 and quickly generate anaccurate plant group map 460. To illustrate, FIG. 4 is a representationof a plant identification model, in accordance with one exampleembodiment.

In the illustrated embodiment, the plant identification model 405 is aconvolutional neural network model with layers of nodes, in which valuesat nodes of a current layer are a transformation of values at nodes of aprevious layer. A transformation in the model 405 is determined througha set of weights and parameters connecting the current layer and theprevious layer. For example, as shown in FIG. 4 , the example model 405includes five layers of nodes: layers 410, 420, 430, 440, and 450. Thecontrol system 130 applies the function W₁ to transform from layer 410to layer 420, applies the function W₂ to transform from layer 420 tolayer 430, applies the function W₃ to transform from layer 430 to layer440, and applies the function W₄ to transform from layer 440 to layer450. In some examples, the transformation can also be determined througha set of weights and parameters used to transform between previouslayers in the model. For example, the transformation W₄ from layer 440to layer 450 can be based on parameters used to accomplish thetransformation W₁ from layer 410 to 420.

In an example process, the control system 130 inputs an accessed image400 (e.g., accessed image 300) to the model 405 and encodes the imageonto the convolutional layer 410. After processing by the control system130, the model 405 outputs a plant group map 460 (e.g., 325A, 325B)decoded from the output layer 450. In the identification layer 430, thecontrol system 130 employs the model 405 to identify plant groupinformation associated with pixels in the accessed image 400. The plantgroup information may be indicative of plants and other objects in thefield and their locations in the accessed image 400. The control system130 reduces the dimensionality of the convolutional layer 410 to that ofthe identification layer 430 to identify plant group information in theaccessed image pixels, and then increases the dimensionality of theidentification layer 430 to generate a plant group map 460 (e.g., 325A,325B). In some examples, the plant identification model 405 can grouppixels in an accessed image 400 based on plant group informationidentified in the identification layer 430 when generating the plantgroup map 460.

As previously described, the control system 130 encodes an accessedimage 400 to a convolutional layer 410. In one example, a captured imageis directly encoded to the convolutional layer 410 because thedimensionality of the convolutional layer 410 is the same as a pixeldimensionality (e.g., number of pixels) of the accessed image 400. Inother examples, the captured image can be adjusted such that the pixeldimensionality of the captured image is the same as the dimensionalityof the convolutional layer 410. For example, the accessed image 400 maybe cropped, reduced, scaled, etc.

The control system 130 applies the model 405 to relate an accessed image400 in the convolutional layer 410 to plant group information in theidentification layer 430. The control system 130 retrieves relevantinformation between these elements by applying a set of transformations(e.g., W₁, W₂, etc.) between the corresponding layers. Continuing withthe example from FIG. 4 , the convolutional layer 410 of the model 405represents an accessed image 400, and identification layer 430 of themodel 405 represents plant group information encoded in the image. Thecontrol system 130 identifies plant group information corresponding topixels in an accessed image 400 by applying the transformations W₁ andW₂ to the pixel values of the accessed image 400 in the space ofconvolutional layer 410. The weights and parameters for thetransformations may indicate relationships between the visualinformation contained in the accessed image and the inherent plant groupinformation encoded in the accessed image 400. For example, the weightsand parameters can be a quantization of shapes, distances, obscuration,etc. associated with plant group information in an accessed image 400.The control system 130 may learn the weights and parameters usinghistorical user interaction data and labelled images.

In the identification layer 430, the control system maps pixels in theimage to associated plant group information based on the latentinformation about the objects represented by the visual information inthe captured image. The identified plant group information can be usedto generate a plant group map 460. To generate a plant group map 460,the control system 130 employs the model 405 and applies thetransformations W₃ and W₄ to the plant group information identified inidentification layer 430. The transformations result in a set of nodesin the output layer 450. The weights and parameters for thetransformations may indicate relationships between the image pixels inthe accessed image 400 and a plant groups in a plant group map 460. Insome cases, the control system 130 directly outputs a plant group map460 from the nodes of the output layer 450, while in other cases thecontrol system 130 decodes the nodes of the output layer 450 into aplant group map 460. That is, model 405 can include a conversion layer(not illustrated) that converts the output layer 450 to a plant groupmap 460.

The weights and parameters for the plant identification model 405 can becollected and trained, for example, using data collected from previouslycaptured visual images and a labeling process. The labeling processincreases the accuracy and reduces the amount of time required by thecontrol system 130 employing the model 405 to identify plant groupinformation associated with pixels in an image. The labelling andtraining process are described in more detail below with reference toFIG. 10 .

Additionally, the model 405 can include layers known as intermediatelayers. Intermediate layers are those that do not correspond toconvolutional layer 110 for the accessed image 400, the identificationlayer 430 for the plant group information, and an output layer 450 forthe plant group map 460. For example, as shown in FIG. 4 , layers 420are intermediate encoder layers between the convolutional layer 410 andthe identification layer 430. Layer 440 is an intermediate decoder layerbetween the identification layer 430 and the output layer 450. Hiddenlayers are latent representations of different aspects of an accessedimage that are not observed in the data but may govern the relationshipsbetween the elements of an image when identifying plant groupsassociated with pixels in an image. For example, a node in the hiddenlayer may have strong connections (e.g., large weight values) to inputvalues and values of nodes in an identification layer that share thecommonality of plant groups. Specifically, in the example model of FIG.4 , nodes of the hidden layers 420 and 440 can link inherent visualinformation in the accessed image 400 that share common characteristicsto help determine plant group information for one or more pixels.

Additionally, each intermediate layer may be a combination of functionssuch as, for example, residual blocks, convolutional layers, poolingoperations, skip connections, concatenations, etc. Any number ofintermediate encoder layers 420 can function to reduce the convolutionallayer to the identification layer and any number of intermediate decoderlayers 440 can function to increase the identification layer 430 to theoutput layer 450. Alternatively stated, the encoder intermediate layersreduce the pixel dimensionality to the plant group identificationdimensionality, and the decoder intermediate layers increase theidentification dimensionality to the plant group map dimensionality.

Furthermore, in various embodiments, the functions of the model 405 canreduce the accessed image 400 and identify any number of objects in afield. The identified objects are represented in the identificationlayer 430 as a data structure having the identification dimensionality.In various other embodiments, the identification layer can identifylatent information representing other objects in the accessed image. Forexample, the identification layer 430 can identify a result of a planttreatment, soil, an obstruction, or any other object in the field.

III.B Example Training Images

As described above, the plant identification model may be a machinelearned model that was trained using images of plants in a field. Thetraining images may be an accessed image, or a portion of an accessedimage (e.g., bounding boxes that enclose pixels representing theplants). In the former, the training images are larger and may providemore data for training the model. In the latter, the training images arelocalized to portions of the images and may be faster to label. Whateverthe case, the training images include pixels representing plants fromplant groups and other objects in the field that can be used to train aplant identification model. The generation of training images andtraining the plant identification model is further described withreference to FIG. 10 .

In some embodiments, semantic segmentation labels with multiple plantgroups may be generated from semantic segmentation labels with fewerplant groups and bounding box labels. For example, bounding box labelscorresponding to multiple weed species can be combined with semanticsegmentation labels that have a single group for all weeds, in order togenerate semantic segmentation labels corresponding to multiple weedspecies. The initial labels can be combined by intersecting eachbounding box with the semantic segmentation label and assigning theintersected portion of the semantic segmentation label to the class ofthe bounding box. This approach may enable savings of time and money.

FIG. 5 illustrates a table describing an example set of training images.The left column lists plant groups labeled by bounding boxes in the set.In this example, the plant groups are species that include grass weed,broadleaf weed, cotton, soybean, pigweed, morning glory,horseweed/marestail, kochia, maize/corn, nutsedge, lambsquarters, andvelvet leaf. The right column lists the total number of images thatinclude each species, and the middle column lists the total number ofbounding boxes for each plant group (an image may include multiple plantgroups and an image may include multiple plants of a same group).

III.C Example Identification Model

FIG. 6A is a confusion matrix characterizing a plant identificationmodel trained using the training images described with reference to FIG.5 . Each axis lists the plant groups. The x-axis lists plant groupspredicted by the model and the y-axis lists the actual plant groups in aset of test images. Thus, each row of the matrix represents the numberof instances a plant group was predicted while each column representsthe number of instances a plant group was present in the test images. Ina confusion matrix, values in the diagonal represent accuratepredictions while values in the off diagonals represent predictionerrors, such as false negatives and false positives. FIG. 6B is a tablelisting additional performance metrics of the trained plantidentification model, which includes fscore, precision, and recallvalues. Precision, recall, and fscore are respectively defined as:

$\begin{matrix}{{{Precision} = \frac{TP}{{TP} + {FP}}},} & (1) \\{{{Recall} = \frac{TP}{{TP} + {FN}}},} & (2) \\{and} & \; \\{{{Fscore} = \frac{2({Precision}\;)({Recall})}{{Precision}\; + {Recall}}},} & (3)\end{matrix}$where TP is the number of true positives, FP is the number of falsepositives, and FN is the number of false negatives.

The performance metrics in FIGS. 6A and 6B indicate the example plantprediction model is highly effective at identifying cotton, grass weed,and soybean plants with high accuracy and is moderately effective atidentifying broadleaf weed and pigweed plants. As previously stated, themetrics in FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate the performance of an exampleplant identification model which was trained using the training imagesdescribed with reference to FIG. 5 . The plant identification model asdescribed in this disclosure should not be limited to these performancemetric values, or the performance metric values illustrated insubsequent images. For example, the fscore, precision, and recall valuesfor horseweed, kochia, lambsquarters, nutsedge, and velvet leaf in FIG.6B may be improved by using additional training images that includethese plant groups.

III.D Example Plant Groups

As previously described, the plant identification model may identify andclassify different plant groups. For example, plants may be groupedaccording to their species, genus, or family. Plant groups may bepredetermined (i.e., the plant identification model is trained withimages that include the plant group labels) or groups may be provided tothe plant identification model (e.g., by a user) after it is trained. Inthe latter case, the plant identification model may be trained toidentify species (or another type of group), and, after training, themodel may be instructed to classify species into specific groups.Example plant groupings are described below with reference to FIGS.7A-7D. These figures include performance metrics for a plantidentification model trained from the images described with reference toFIG. 5 .

A first example grouping classifies plants as either “crop” or “weed.”An example of this grouping is illustrated in FIG. 7A. FIG. 7Aillustrates performance metrics for a plant identification modelinstructed to classify plants as either “soybean” (i.e., the crop) or“weed.” In this case, species other than soybeans (e.g., grass weed,broadleaf weed, pigweed, morning glory, horseweed, kochia, nutsedge,lambsquarters, and velvet leaf) are classified as the weed group. Inthis example, the metrics indicate the model is effective at identifyingsoybean plants, weeds, and other plants among others.

A second example grouping separates weeds according to a plantcharacteristic, such as leaf shape, size, and/or color. An example ofthis grouping is illustrated in FIG. 7B. FIG. 7B illustrates performancemetrics for a plant identification model instructed to classify plantsas either “soybean,” “monocot weed,” or “broadleaf weed.” In this case,“monocot weed” includes weeds with slender leaves and “broadleaf weed”includes weeds with broad leaves. In this example, the metrics indicatethe model is highly effective at identifying soybean plants and monocotweeds and moderately effective at identifying broadleaf weeds amongother plants. “Monocot weed,” and “broadleaf weed” may be consideredsubgroups of the “weed” group in FIG. 7A.

A third example grouping is illustrated in FIG. 7C, where the plantidentification model is instructed to classify plants as either“soybean,” “grass weed,” “broadleaf weed,” or “sedge weed.” In thiscase, “grass weed” may include grass weed and corn; “broadleaf weed” mayinclude cotton, kochia, lambsquarters, velvetleaf, morning glory,horseweed, pigweed, and broadleaf weed; and “sedge weed” may includenutsedge. This may be useful from a herbicide chemistry perspectivesince different families of weeds or weed species respond differently todifferent herbicide chemistry mixes. As an example, the chemistry usedto treat grass weeds may be different than that used to treat broadleafweeds. In this sense one can use a farming machine with differentchemical mixes and target the delivery of the chemical based on thedetection of the type of weed.

In the example of FIG. 7C, the metrics indicate the model is highlyeffective at identifying soybean plants and grass weeds and moderatelyeffective at identifying broadleaf weeds. The model's ability toidentify sedge weed may be improved by including more images withnutsedge in the training images. In some embodiments, “Grass weed,”“broadleaf weed,” and “sedge weed” may be considered subgroups of the“weed” group in FIG. 7A.

Pigweed may be classified in a separate group, for example since it is acommon weed for a variety of crops (e.g., cotton and soybean) in theUnited States. An example grouping that does this is illustrated in FIG.7D. In this example, the metrics indicate the model is highly effectiveat identifying soybean plants and grass weeds and moderately effectiveat identifying broadleaf weeds and pigweeds. In some cases, if a user isonly interested in identifying pigweed (or any other plant), the plantidentification model may be instructed to classify plants as either“pigweed” or “not pigweed,” where “not pigweed” includes all other cropsand weeds.

In another example grouping, the plant identification model groupsplants according to plant treatments that should be applied to theplants. For example, plants may be grouped according to herbicide,pesticide, fungicide, or fertilizer treatments that should be applied toplants in that group. Using the example species from FIG. 5 , a firstherbicide group may include weeds (e.g., grass weed and lambsquarters)that should be treated with a glyphosate herbicide treatment, a secondherbicide group may include weeds (e.g., broadleaf, horseweed, morningglory, and velvet leaf) that should be treated with a dicamba herbicidetreatment, and a third herbicide group may include weeds (e.g., pigweed,kochia, and nutsedge) that should be treated with a glufosinateherbicide treatment.

III.E. Applying the Plant Identification Model

FIG. 8 illustrates a method for treating a plant in a field, inaccordance with one or more embodiments. The method may be performed bya farming machine that moves through the field. The farming machineincludes a plurality of treatment mechanisms. The method 800 may beperformed from the perspective of the control system 130. The method 800can include greater or fewer steps than described herein. Additionally,the steps can be performed in different order, or by differentcomponents than described herein.

The control system receives 810 information describing plant groups tobe identified in the field by a plant identification model. Theinformation may be based on input from a user of the farming machine(e.g., farming machine 100) or one or more sensors (e.g., sensor 210).Each plant group includes one or more plants and the plant groups maycorrespond to one or more plants planted in the field. The plant groupsmay describe families, genera, or species of plants in the plant groups.In some embodiments, the plant groups describe plant treatments to beapplied to plants in the plant groups. For example, each plant groupdescribes a herbicide, pesticide, fungicide, or fertilizer treatment tobe applied to plants in the plant group. In other embodiments, the plantgroups describe a plant characteristic (e.g., leaf shape, size, or leafcolor) shared by plants in each plant group.

The control system accesses 820 an image of the field from an imagesensor. The image sensor may be coupled to the farming machine as itmoves through the field. The image includes a group of pixelsrepresenting the plant. The control system applies 830 the plantidentification model to the image. The plant identification modeldetermines that the group of pixels representing the plant is a plant ina plant group, classifies the group of pixels representing the plant asthe plant group, and determines a representative location of theclassified group of pixels. The control system generates 840 a planttreatment instruction for treating the plant with a treatment mechanismbased on the classified plant group and the representative location. Thecontrol system actuates 850 the plant treatment mechanism using theplant treatment instruction such that the plant is treated with theplant treatment mechanism as the farming machine moves past the plant inthe field. In some embodiments, the image of the field is captured bythe image sensor at a first time and the plant treatment mechanism isactuated at a second time after the first time. The second time may beany time after the first time.

III.F Training a Plant Identification Model

FIG. 9 illustrates a method of training a plant identification model, inaccordance with one or more embodiments. The method 900 may be performedfrom the perspective of the control system 130. The method 900 caninclude greater or fewer steps than described herein. Additionally, thesteps can be performed in different order, or by different componentsthan described herein.

The control system 130 accesses 910 a group of images with pixelsrepresenting one or more plants. The images have a field of view from animage sensor. The image sensor may be attached to a farming machine asthe farming machine travels past plants in a field. The control system130 identifies 920 a plurality of pixel groups within the images. Eachpixel group represents one or more plants and indicates a representativelocation in the image of the one or more plants.

For each image in the group of images, the control system 130 generates930 one or more labelled images by assigning a plant group to each ofthe pixel groups in the image. For example, bounding boxes are placedaround the pixel groups and plant group labels are assigned to theboxes. In another example (e.g., for a pixel segmentation model),individual pixels in the pixel groups are identified and assigned toplant group labels. To label the images, the control system 130 mayreceive input from one or more users who view the images and identifyplant groups in the bounding boxes. For example, an agronomicallytrained user identifies a species of each plant represented by a pixelgroup in a bounding box. In some embodiments, the labelled imagesinclude labels for groups of pixels representing non-plant objects inthe field, such as the soil, rocks, field debris, etc. For example,these non-plant objects are labelled by assigning “non-plant object” tothe pixels representing them.

The control system 130 trains 940 the plant identification model todetermine (e.g., identify) a plant group and determine a plant locationin a single image using the group of labelled images. The plantidentification model is trained by associating the images with thelabelled images. For example, functions of a neural network are trainedto associate a label of a labeled image with a group of pixels in acorresponding unlabeled image. As previously stated, the plantidentification model may be instructed to identify specific plant groupsduring operation of the farming machine. In some cases, the plantidentification model is instructed to identify plant groups which aredifferent from the groups in the labeled images from which it wastrained. For example, the plant identification model is instructed toidentify genera, but the model was trained to identify species. In thesecases, plant identification model may form clusters of plant groups thatcorrespond to the groups specified in the instructions. Continuing theprevious example, the model may form groups of species that correspondto genera. By doing this the plant identification model can identifyspecies according to its training and then group the identified speciesinto the genera groups.

In some cases, if a user prioritizes identification of one plant groupover another, the plant identification model may be instructed todeliver higher performance with respect to a certain metric for aspecific plant group. For example, when using a semantic segmentationplant identification model that classifies pixels in an image as either“pigweed,” “weed other than pigweed,” and “not a weed,” a user may wantto prioritize recall for “pigweed” relative to recall for “weed otherthan pigweed” and recall for “not a weed.” In this example, the plantidentification model may be trained with a loss function such asasymmetric loss, and use parameters that prioritize recall for“pigweed,” such as by using a higher beta value for “pigweed” than for“weed other than pigweed” and “not a weed.” In some embodiments, it maybe important to identify noxious weed species. In these embodiments, theloss function may be adjusted to penalize identification mistakes onnoxious weeds more heavily than less noxious or non-noxious weeds. Thus,the plant identification model may be tuned to perform more accuratelyon noxious weeds, which may reduce the change that noxious weeds willcompete with the crop.

The control system 130 can train the plant identification modelperiodically during operation of the farming machine, at a determinedtime, or before the plant identification model is implemented on afarming machine. Additionally, the plant identification model can betrained by another system such that the plant identification model canbe implemented on a control system of a farming machine as a standalonemodel.

IV. Plant Identification Map

In some embodiments, a plant identification map of a field is generated.The plant identification map may be a spatially indexed geographical mapof the field that indicates locations of plant groups which wereidentified by the plant identification model. Among other advantages,the plant identification map provides insights into cultivating andmaintaining the field. FIG. 10 illustrates an example plantidentification map 1000. The map 1000 provides an overhead real-worldview of a field that includes 3 rows of a crop (the first plant group1005) along with weeds scattered between the rows (the second plantgroup 1010 and third plant group 1015). Although not indicated in FIG.10 , one or more of the groups may be highlighted to assist a user torecognize the locations of plant groups in the field. The plantidentification map may also indicate types of treatment actions appliedto regions of the field (e.g., based on the classified plant groups andtheir locations). The example of FIG. 10 indicates treatment area 1020Awhere a first herbicide was applied to second plant groups 1010 andtreatment area 1020B where a second herbicide was applied to third plantgroups 1015. The plant identification map 1000 thus allows a user tovisualize where plant treatments actions were applied in the field.

The control system 130 may generate the map 1000 by combining accessedimages or plant group maps from the plant identification model. The map1000 may be generated after the farming machine passes through the fieldand applies treatment actions to the plants in the field. The images maybe combined as follows. Each image sensor's extrinsic parameters (e.g.,position and orientation) may be known with respect to a GPS receiver,along with the sensor's intrinsic parameters (e.g., sensor parametersand distortion parameters). Given these parameters, the pixels in animage can be associated or mapped to a geographic location on a groundplane. Each image may be mapped to a ground plane and the geographiccoordinates of each image are computed. Once the geospatial coordinatesof each image are known, then the pixels may be placed on a digital maprepresenting the geographical area that was imaged by the farmingmachine.

Since the farming machine may include different image sensors (e.g., avisible wavelength camera and an IR camera), the plant identificationmap may include different layers (not shown in FIG. 10 ) formed byimages from each sensor (e.g., a visible wavelength layer and an IRlayer). Through a user interface, a user may view one or more layers atonce, e.g., the IR layer is overlaid on the visible wavelength layer.Other layers can include plant group identifications of the plantidentification model, the spray areas where farming treatments wereapplied by the farming machine (e.g., areas 1020), or layers derivedafter the fact like ground truth layers identifying the actual locationsof crop and weed species, or other layers related to the operation ofthe machine (e.g. dusty images or other factors which may affect theoperation of the machine).

Color schemes may be applied to an identification map 1000 in order tohighlight plant groups in the field. For example, the soil is grayed outand each plant group is highlighted by a different color. In anotherexample, only a single plant group is highlighted so that the group isquickly identified. In some embodiments, the plant identification map isa heat map, where colors of the map indicate spatial densities of plantgroups in the field.

As indicated in FIG. 10 , metrics may be overlaid on the plantidentification map 1000 such as farming machine information, field data,treatment mechanism metrics (referred to as “spray geometry” in FIG. 10), area metrics, and timing metrics. Farming machine informationdescribes information associated with the farming machine, such as thefarming machine type and model. Field data information describesinformation associated with the crop in the field, such as the crop(e.g., species) in the field and the crop's size (e.g., height).Treatment mechanism metrics describe the orientation and positions ofthe machine's treatment mechanisms. In the example of FIG. 10 , thefarming machine includes a spray nozzle oriented at 40 degrees. Areametrics describe field and plant group metrics, such as the total areaimaged by the farming machine, total number of identified plants (notshown in FIG. 10 ), total number of identified plant groups (not shownin FIG. 10 ), total weed group area identified by the plantidentification model, and total area sprayed by the treatmentmechanisms. Timing metrics describe latencies (e.g., averages andmaximum) of the farming machine, such as the time taken to capture animage of a plant, classify the plant into a plant group, determine atreatment, and apply the treatment to the plant. Another metric ofinterest may be the accuracy of the farming machine in spraying weeds,for example, computed by comparing the spray locations identified by themachines with the locations of weeds identified in a “truth” layer. Thetruth layer is formed by a labeler providing labels for plant groups(not typically done during the operation of the farming machine).

V. Treating Plants Using Plant Groups

As described above, a farming machine can employ a control system 130executing a plant identification model to classify plants into plantgroups and determine locations of the plant groups. The farming machinemay then treat the plant based on their plant groups and theirlocations. When treating plants, the control system 130 can determineone or more treatment actions for the identified plant groups. Aspreviously described, treatment actions can include, for example,actuating a treatment mechanism, modifying a treatment parameter,modifying an operational parameter, and modifying a sensor parameter.

In some embodiments, determining a treatment action includes generatinga treatment map. A treatment map is a data structure that associatesplant groups in a plant group map (e.g., map 325) with treatmentactions. For example, a treatment map includes plant group segmentations(e.g., 345, 350, and 355) which are binned according to predeterminedtreatment actions. Those treatment actions may be performed by atreatment mechanism only able to treat a specific area of the field.Therefore, specific segmentations are linked to specific treatmentmechanisms.

In some embodiments, a treatment map has a field of view thatcorresponds to the field of view of an accessed image (e.g., image 300)and portions of the field of view correspond to a treatment mechanismthat performs a treatment action. Thus, when a portion of the field ofview includes a plant to be treated with a treatment action, acorresponding treatment mechanism will be used to treat the plant.

The control system 130 may generate a treatment map when employing themethod 800. The control system 130 interprets and translates the datastructure of a treatment map into the machine signals necessary toaccomplish a treatment action at an appropriate time. Thus, the controlsystem 130 can implement treatment actions to treat plants (or otherobjects) in the field. An example of generating a treatment map to treatan identified plant is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/126,842 titled “Semantic Segmentation to Identify and Treat Plants ina Field and Verify the Plant Treatments,” filed on Sep. 10, 2018, whichis incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, but other methodsof generating a treatment map are also possible.

VIII. Control System

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating components of an example machinefor reading and executing instructions from a machine-readable medium.Specifically, FIG. 11 shows a diagrammatic representation of controlsystem 130 in the example form of a computer system 1100. The computersystem 1100 can be used to execute instructions 1124 (e.g., program codeor software) for causing the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies (or processes) described herein. In alternativeembodiments, the machine operates as a standalone device or a connected(e.g., networked) device that connects to other machines. In a networkeddeployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of a server machineor a client machine in a server-client network environment, or as a peermachine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment.

The machine may be a server computer, a client computer, a personalcomputer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a smartphone, aninternet of things (IoT) appliance, a network router, switch or bridge,or any machine capable of executing instructions 1124 (sequential orotherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further,while only a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shallalso be taken to include any collection of machines that individually orjointly execute instructions 1124 to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein.

The example computer system 1100 includes one or more processing units(generally processor 1102). The processor 1102 is, for example, acentral processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), adigital signal processor (DSP), a control system, a state machine, oneor more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), one or moreradio-frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), or any combination ofthese. The computer system 1100 also includes a main memory 1104. Thecomputer system may include a storage unit 1116. The processor 1102,memory 1104, and the storage unit 1116 communicate via a bus 1108.

In addition, the computer system 1100 can include a static memory 1106,a graphics display 1110 (e.g., to drive a plasma display panel (PDP), aliquid crystal display (LCD), or a projector). The computer system 1100may also include alphanumeric input device 1112 (e.g., a keyboard), acursor control device 1114 (e.g., a mouse, a trackball, a joystick, amotion sensor, or other pointing instrument), a signal generation device1118 (e.g., a speaker), and a network interface device 1120, which alsoare configured to communicate via the bus 1108.

The storage unit 1116 includes a machine-readable medium 1122 on whichis stored instructions 1124 (e.g., software) embodying any one or moreof the methodologies or functions described herein. For example, theinstructions 1124 may include the functionalities of modules of thesystem 130 described in FIG. 2 . The instructions 1124 may also reside,completely or at least partially, within the main memory 1104 or withinthe processor 1102 (e.g., within a processor's cache memory) duringexecution thereof by the computer system 1100, the main memory 1104 andthe processor 1102 also constituting machine-readable media. Theinstructions 1124 may be transmitted or received over a network 1126 viathe network interface device 1120.

IX. Additional Considerations

In the description above, for purposes of explanation, numerous specificdetails are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding ofthe illustrated system and its operations. It will be apparent, however,to one skilled in the art that the system can be operated without thesespecific details. In other instances, structures and devices are shownin block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the system.

Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment”means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic describedin connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodimentof the system. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” invarious places in the specification are not necessarily all referring tothe same embodiment.

Some portions of the detailed descriptions are presented in terms ofalgorithms or models and symbolic representations of operations on databits within a computer memory. An algorithm is here, and generally,conceived to be steps leading to a desired result. The steps are thoserequiring physical transformations or manipulations of physicalquantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take theform of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored,transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It hasproven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, torefer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters,terms, numbers, or the like.

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar termsare to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and aremerely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unlessspecifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussion,it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizingterms such as “processing” or “computing” or “calculating” or“determining” or “displaying” or the like, refer to the action andprocesses of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device,that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical(electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers andmemories into other data similarly represented as physical quantitieswithin the computer system memories or registers or other suchinformation storage, transmission or display devices.

Some of the operations described herein are performed by a computerphysically mounted within a machine. This computer may be speciallyconstructed for the required purposes, or it may comprise ageneral-purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by acomputer program stored in the computer. Such a computer program may bestored in a computer readable storage medium, such as, but is notlimited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks,CD-ROMs, and magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), randomaccess memories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, orany type of non-transitory computer readable storage medium suitable forstoring electronic instructions.

The figures and the description above relate to various embodiments byway of illustration only. It should be noted that from the followingdiscussion, alternative embodiments of the structures and methodsdisclosed herein will be readily recognized as viable alternatives thatmay be employed without departing from the principles of what isclaimed.

One or more embodiments have been described above, examples of which areillustrated in the accompanying figures. It is noted that whereverpracticable similar or like reference numbers may be used in the figuresand may indicate similar or like functionality. The figures depictembodiments of the disclosed system (or method) for purposes ofillustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize fromthe following description that alternative embodiments of the structuresand methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing fromthe principles described herein.

Some embodiments may be described using the expression “coupled” and“connected” along with their derivatives. It should be understood thatthese terms are not intended as synonyms for each other. For example,some embodiments may be described using the term “connected” to indicatethat two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contactwith each other. In another example, some embodiments may be describedusing the term “coupled” to indicate that two or more elements are indirect physical or electrical contact. The term “coupled,” however, mayalso mean that two or more elements are not in direct physical orelectrical contact with each other, but yet still co-operate or interactwith each other. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,”“including,” “has,” “having” or any other variation thereof, areintended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process,method, article or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is notnecessarily limited to only those elements but may include otherelements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method,article or apparatus. Further, unless expressly stated to the contrary,“or” refers to an inclusive or and not to an exclusive or. For example,a condition A or B is satisfied by any one of the following: A is true(or present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or notpresent) and B is true (or present), and both A and B is true (orpresent).

In addition, use of the “a” or “an” are employed to describe elementsand components of the embodiments herein. This is done merely forconvenience and to give a general sense of the system. This descriptionshould be read to include one or at least one and the singular alsoincludes the plural unless it is obvious that it is meant otherwise.

Upon reading this disclosure, those of skill in the art will appreciatestill additional alternative structural and functional designs for asystem and a process for identifying and treating plants with a farmingmachine including a control system executing a semantic segmentationmodel. Thus, while particular embodiments and applications have beenillustrated and described, it is to be understood that the disclosedembodiments are not limited to the precise construction and componentsdisclosed herein. Various modifications, changes and variations, whichwill be apparent to those, skilled in the art, may be made in thearrangement, operation and details of the method and apparatus disclosedherein without departing from the spirit and scope defined in theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for treating a plant in a field by afarming machine that moves through the field, the farming machineincluding a plurality of treatment mechanisms: receiving informationdescribing (1) a plurality of weed groups and a crop group to beidentified in the field by a plant identification model, (2) a treatmentto be applied to plants in the crop group, and (3) treatments to beapplied to weed groups in the plurality of weed groups, each weed groupcomprising one or more weeds; accessing an image of the field capturedby an image sensor, the image comprising a group of pixels representingthe plant; applying the plant identification model to the image, theplant identification model configured to: determine, based on the groupof pixels representing the plant, that the plant is a weed in a weedgroup of the plurality of weed groups described in the receivedinformation; classify the group of pixels representing the plant as thedetermined weed group; and determine a representative location of theclassified group of pixels in the image; generating a plant treatmentinstruction for treating the plant with a treatment mechanism of theplurality of treatment mechanisms based on the received informationdescribing a treatment to be applied to plants in the determined weedgroup and the representative location; and actuating the plant treatmentmechanism using the plant treatment instruction such that the plant istreated with the plant treatment mechanism as the farming machine movespast the plant in the field.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein theplurality of weed groups corresponds to one or more plants in the field.3. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of weed groups describefamilies of plants in the weed groups.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereinthe plurality of weed groups describe genera of plants in the weedgroups.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of weed groupsdescribe species of plants in the weed groups.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein each weed group in the plurality of weed groups describes aplant characteristic of plants in the weed group.
 7. The method of claim6, wherein the plant characteristic includes at least one of a leafshape, a leaf size, or a leaf color.
 8. The farming machine of claim 1,wherein the treatments include at least one of a herbicide treatment, apesticide treatment, a fungicide treatment, or a fertilizer treatment.9. The method of claim 1, wherein the image of the field is captured bythe image sensor at a first time and the plant treatment mechanism isactuated at a second time after the first time.
 10. The method of claim1, wherein the image sensor is coupled to the farming machine and theimage sensor captures the image of the field as the farming machinemoves through the field.
 11. A farming machine comprising: a pluralityof plant treatment mechanisms for treating plants as the farming machinetravels past the plants in a field; a control system configured to:receive information describing (1) a plurality of weed groups and a cropgroup to be identified in the field by a plant identification model, (2)a treatment to be applied to plants in the crop group, and (3)treatments to be applied to weed groups in the plurality of weed groups,each weed group comprising one or more weeds; access an image of a plantcaptured by an image sensor, the image comprising a group of pixelsrepresenting the plant; apply the plant identification model to theimage, the plant identification model configured to: determine, based onthe group of pixels representing the plant, that the plant is a weed ina weed group of the plurality of weed groups described in the receivedinformation; classify the group of pixels representing the plant as thedetermined weed group; and determine a representative location of theclassified group of pixels; generate a plant treatment instruction fortreating the plant with a treatment mechanism of the plurality of planttreatment mechanisms based on the received information describing atreatment to be applied to plants in the determined weed group and therepresentative location; and actuate the plant treatment mechanism usingthe plant treatment instruction such that the plant is treated with theplant treatment mechanism as the farming machine moves past the plant inthe field.
 12. The farming machine of claim 11, wherein the plurality ofweed groups correspond to one or more plants planted in the field. 13.The farming machine of claim 11, wherein the plurality of weed groupsdescribe species of plants in the weed groups.
 14. The farming machineof claim 11, wherein the plurality of weed groups describe genera ofplants in the weed groups.
 15. The farming machine of claim 11, whereineach weed group in the plurality of weed groups describes acorresponding plant characteristic of plants in the weed group.
 16. Thefarming machine of claim 15, wherein plant characteristics include atleast one of a leaf shape, a leaf size, or a leaf color.
 17. A methodcomprising: accessing images of a field that were captured by an imagesensor, the images including groups of pixels representing one or moreplants in the field, each group of pixels classified as a plant groupfrom a plurality of plant groups by a plant identification model;accessing information indicating plant treatment actions applied to thefield by a farming machine based on the plant groups classified by theplant identification model; combining the accessed images to generate aplant identification map, wherein the plant identification map is ageographic map of the field indicating locations of individual plants ofplant groups in the field and locations of plant treatment actionsapplied to one or more of the individual plants; and sending the plantidentification map to a device for display.
 18. The method of claim 17,further comprising: generating a heat map on plant groups in the fieldby applying a color scheme to the plant identification map, wherein acolor intensity of the heat map indicates a spatial density of a plantgroup in the field.
 19. The method of claim 17, further comprising:displaying an accuracy metric determined by comparing the locations ofthe plant treatment actions in the field relative to the locations ofindividual plants in the field.